The Colgate Comedy Hour
Abbott & Costello
TV Flash files “Abbott & Costello” as the last listed hour of season 4 — The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950–1955) on NBC, season 4, episode 33, aired 1954-05-23, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E33: listed hour 86 of 102 in the The Colgate Comedy Hour guide, last listed hour of season 4. It aired 1954-05-23 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Martin & Lewis” (S04E30). Next is “Oct 3, 1954” (S05E03).

Viewer FAQ
Where does Abbott & Costello sit in the The Colgate Comedy Hour guide?
S04E33 is listed hour 86 of 102 — last listed hour of season 4, season 4 episode 33.
When did The Colgate Comedy Hour S04E33 air?
Abbott & Costello aired 1954-05-23 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Martin and Lewis nights if you want the addiction-level chemistry, then sample Cantor or Abbott and Costello weeks for the rotating-summit form.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The Colgate Comedy Hour was Sunday-night mayhem as a rotating comedy summit: Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, and a direct rival to Ed Sullivan's variety night. Watch it for the chemistry of 1950s comedy teams in live explosion mode — including the living-room evidence of a famous split coming.
Sunday night on NBC was not a single desk. It was a rotating comedy summit with toothpaste money, 1950–1955, *The Colgate Comedy Hour* as a high-budget alternative to single-host formats and a direct rival to Ed Sullivan's night: Martin and Lewis as a national addiction, other weeks Eddie Cantor, Abbott and Costello, and more. One hundred two episodes, six seasons. Sunday-night mayhem as a comedy showcase. NBC spent the sponsor to steal Sunday from Sullivan; the rotating kings were the weapon. Patterns, not…
Filed against
- Dean Martin as Host / performer
Dean Martin turned The Colgate Comedy Hour into Sunday-night mayhem with a drink in his voice — rotating comedy summit, Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, a direct rival to Ed Sullivan’s variety night. Live explosion mode. TV Flash…
- Jerry Lewis as Host / performer
Jerry Lewis detonated The Colgate Comedy Hour as Sunday-night mayhem — Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, a rotating comedy summit and a direct rival to Ed Sullivan’s variety night. 1950s teams in live explosion mode. TV Flash files…
- Eddie Cantor as Host
Eddie Cantor hosted The Colgate Comedy Hour as Sunday-night mayhem — a rotating comedy summit, Martin and Lewis in the blast radius, and a direct rival to Ed Sullivan's variety night. Live explosion mode. TV Flash files him as 1950s…